Tag Archives: author talk

Please join us for this talk on General Hospital # 9. It’s been 100 years since the end of World War I and so we have a talk on how this hospital effected different changes in medical roles and medical rehabilitation. We’ll look at how this institution played a large part in establishing Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Veterans.

Our speaker for this program, Nicholas Wood is a historian who enjoys researching places and happenings that are located in Ocean County, his home area. The rediscovered history of General Hospital #9 fits into a larger effort to identify and record Ocean County’s participation in the Great War.

In 1918, the Lakewood Hotel was turned into General Hospital #9, a military hospital in Lakewood, New Jersey. The medical institution served approximately 5,500 convalescing soldiers during and after the Great War. It served a great part in establishing Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Veterans. It also addressed the changing roles of nurses, tensions around segregation and other assorted progressive issues.

Nicholas Wood, a graduate of the University of Maine and the Coopertown Graduate Program, is a Program Development Specialist at the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission. He is responsible for administering the regrant programs, database management, assisting with the Teen Arts Festival and other programs, and providing direct technical assistance. Prior to his appointment with the Commission, Mr. Wood worked for the Jersey Shore Folklife Center at Tuckerton Seaport.

All are welcome! RSVP is appreciated to Cindy Warrick at 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

Please join us on April 10 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room to learn about New Jersey’s deadliest train wreck. Gordon Bond of Garden State Legacy will be talking about the event from his book Man Failure, the story of New Jersey’s deadliest train wreck.

From the Garden State Legacy website, “On the drizzly evening of February 6, 1951, the Pennsylvania Railroad commuter train known as ‘The Broker’ derailed in Woodbridge, New Jersey, killing 85 and injuring hundreds in what remains the deadliest railroad accident in the state’s history. Communities all along the Jersey Shore were shaken by the sudden and violent loss of friends.

What happened was self-evident from the mangled railcars and bodies. Why was another matter and would lead investigators to delve deep into the inner workings of the self-proclaimed ‘Standard Railroad of the World.’

Drawn from contemporary accounts, investigation transcripts, and recent interviews with those whose lives were forever changed, Man Failure: The Story of New Jersey’s Deadliest Train Wreck puts the reader at the center of the story – from the gripping human dramas of survivors, rescuers, and families who lost loved ones, to the controversies surrounding the investigations trying to get to the bottom of a tragedy that still haunts those who experienced it. ”

All are welcome to this free event. RSVP is appreciated to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

Please join us on March 21 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room for a talk to observe Women’s History month: Northern Women in the Aftermath of the Civil War with author Joanne Rajoppi.

Joanne Hamilton Rajoppi, a lifelong resident of New Jersey, is an author and former journalist. A history aficionado, she chronicled the military service of her great-grandfather during the Civil War and based her book New Brunswick and the Civil War: The Brunswick Boys in the Great Rebellion on the letters he wrote to his family. She followed the story with the Hamilton women after the war writing Northern Women in the Aftermath of the Civil War: The Wives and Daughters of the Brunswick Boys. The book chronicles the lives of the wives and daughters of her great-great grandfather, a Brunswick Boy, and their struggles to cope with disabled or missing husbands and sons who fought in the war.

A contributor to Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors: Crossroads of the American Revolution, Rajoppi also has authored several pamphlets and calendars detailing the history of the region.

She is a trustee and officer of the Union County Historical Society. During the Civil War Sesquicentennial she established and chaired a four-year revolving exhibit in the historic Union County Courthouse. She serves as the Union County Clerk and is a former mayor of her hometown.

All are welcome to this free talk. An RSVP is appreciated. Please respond to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172. For other information on events and classes at the State Library visit www.njstatelib.org.

Please join us on February 20th from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room to hear a talk on The Unique Legacy of the Manual Training and Industrial School.

Writer and historian, Dr. Connie Goddard will talk about the School and its role in developing African-American youth. Borrowing freely from ideas about education articulated by Booker T. Washington, John Dewey, and W.E.B. DuBois, the Manual Training and Industrial School, Bordentown, N.J., may well have been the only state-supported boarding school for African-American students in the nation. Founded in 1886 by a group of black ministers and taken over by the state a decade later, it thrived until Brown v. Board of Education made its continued existence unconstitutional and some of its practices dated. During the first half of the 20th century though, it offered a unique educational experience that combined academics, preparation for work, and for contributions to the community.

Dr. Goddard, writer and historian of education, has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago; she has taught history and composition at Mercer County Community College, The College of New Jersey, and two state prisons, as well as in Chicago and Romania. Her scholarly interests focus on schooling in colonial America and during the Progressive Era. Currently she is writing about the Chicago’s eminent educator and Dewey colleague Ella Flagg Young, including the latter’s intellectual and pragmatic sympathies with both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois.

If you plan to attend this free talk, please RSVP to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172. For other information on events and classes at the State Library visit www.njstatelib.org.

Please join us on December 27 from noon – 1 p.m. for an author talk with Peter Lubrecht titled, New Jersey Hessians – Truth and Lore in the American Revolution.

During the American Revolution, five thousand of the thirty thousand German troops hired by Great Britain to fight rebellious colonists marched across New Jersey. Though popular legend would cast these individuals called Hessians as cold and vicious mercenaries, many were prisoners of war with little choice. Stories of their exploits still circulate in New Jersey. Join author Peter Lubrecht as he navigates the myth of Hessian troops in New Jersey to separate fiction from fact.

NOTE: This program is part of Patriot’s Week held in downtown Trenton and the surrounding area. Many individuals attended last year’s program at the State Library. The room has a capacity of 75, please try to RSVP for this event. You can RSVP to cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

Please join us on September 27, 2017 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room for a talk on New Jersey’s World War I Monuments. Historian Erik L. Burro will tell us about many of the World War I monuments located throughout the Garden State. This is the second in a series of four talks celebrating the 100th anniversary of World War I.

Various World War I Monuments in N.J.

A historian living in Burlington County, most of Burro’s business career was spent in corporate communications while he simultaneously pursued a host of projects involving research, exhibitions, presentations and dramatizations of state, regional and American history.

Over the past 40 years, Erik has made a variety of appearances as a guest speaker, master of ceremonies for historic site dedications, host for cultural events and a creator and participant in exhibitions on history-related topics. He has several programs he offers and both here and abroad has portrayed various well-known historic characters. He has also made appearances on NPR and the BBC.

In support of the American Centennial Commemoration of World War I he independently researched and photographed the major monuments of the Great War here in New Jersey and surrounding states. He continues to share his findings with the NJ Department of Preservation and his photography is on display at the Rutgers University WWI exhibit in New Brunswick. He continues to provide support for the Armed Services Heritage Museum, Rutgers Radio’s Veteran’s Hour, the All Veterans Memorial, Mt. Olive, NJ and refurbishment efforts for several doughboy monuments.

Burro is founder of Pennjerdel House, Burlington, NJ, a regional advocacy for increasing public awareness and appreciation of local history and preservation throughout the tri-state area.

Please join us on September 13th for the first of four talks to celebrate the 100th anniversary of
World War I.

Reenactor and military collector John Niemiec will discuss a brief history of the events that led to the “war to end all wars” and will display examples of the uniforms and equipment of U.S. and German combatants, along with other memorabilia of the conflict.

Niemiec grew up hearing the stories of veterans of the Great War and reading about the exploits of doughboys and early military aviators, sparking a life-long fascination with the Great War. In his early 20s he began collecting WWI artifacts and uniforms, outfitting himself, and displaying his collection at “soldier shows,” historic sites, and schools.

An active reenactor since 1962 when a high school teacher involved him in a Civil War artillery unit, Niemiec has since expanded into many time periods including the French & Indian War, the American Revolution, WWII and most recently, Ancient Rome.

John served in the US Navy and Marines from 1965 to 1970, including a 13-month tour in Viet Nam. He has recently retired from a 35 year career with the New Jersey Department of Revenue.

Please join us on Tuesday, June 6th from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room to learn about some of the unsung heroes of the Ten Crucial Days of the Revolution.

Author and historical interpreter David Price will share with us about these little-known patriots with a focus on the 10 days between December 25, 1776 and January 3, 1777.

A historical interpreter for the Friends of Washington Crossing Park, Price leads guided tours focusing on the “Ten Crucial Days” of the American Revolution and other historical aspects of Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, the Museum of the American Revolution, the Old Barracks Association, and the Princeton Battlefield Society. David is a magna cum laude graduate of Drew University and holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick, where he was an Eagleton Fellow. Formerly he worked for 31 years as a nonpartisan research analyst in the Office of Legislative Services of the New Jersey State Legislature.

All are welcome to this event. RSVP is appreciated. Please RSVP to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

Join us to learn about the concept of Farm-to-table, the different ways restaurants provide this experience, and how it can be effective when used through farmers markets and community-supported agriculture.

Chef Darren DeBlasi will share his love for food and the farm to table concept. He graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Finance and French and took a position as Associate Director of a Management Consulting firm. Taking a departure from the corporate world, he worked a grape harvest at a Napa Valley winery. He has a passion for food and is a self-taught home chef who specializes in Restaurant public relations, menu development, social media strategy, food writing and private dining and event planning. He is also a chef at Cecil Creek Farm in Mickleton, NJ, which specializes in the farm to table experience. There he creates 5 or 8 course Farm to Table tasting menus that reflect the growing season and showcase New Jersey’s bountiful Garden State agriculture.

Darren is always busy on the food scene and documents and photographs the Philly Dining Scene and his kitchen creations on twitter at www.twitter.com/PhillyFoodDude and on instagram at www.instagram.com/PhillyFoodDude. He advice on learning and cooking, “Be daring and experimental. . . The key is learning at every step. . . the components of a dish are simple. As you focus on sensibility, seasonality, texture, quality, imagination, flavor, execution, and the enjoyment of the process, you can bring a dish to life.”

All are welcome to this event. RSVP is appreciated. Please RSVP to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

Please join us on April 4th for a talk from Maureen Wlodarczyk. Do you wish your family genealogy could be more than a chart or a tree? Well Maureen will tell us how to breathe life and dimension into your family history to make it a story. Context is everything in truly knowing the people who came before you and made your life possible.

An author, columnist, genealogist, speaker and admitted history addict, she writes a quarterly genealogy-related column. The column’s title is “History & Mystery: Perfect Together” and is for the e-magazine Garden State Legacy. She is also a contributing writer for Irish Lives Remembered, the Ireland-based genealogical e-magazine. She is an officer and Y_DNA project administrator with the Flannery Clan organization of Dublin, Ireland; and a member of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey, Hudson County Historical and Genealogical Society and the Irish-American Writers and Artists organization.

The event will take place in the Level 2 Reading Room on April 4th from noon to 1 p.m. All are welcome to this free event. RSVP is appreciated. Please RSVP to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

On February 7, 2017 the State Library will have a special program on the History of the Trent House.

The 1719 Trent House has had a long history and is the oldest house in Mercer County. The name “Trenton” came from the settlement which William Trent laid out and incorporated. The house has had many different uses throughout its history including being a home for some of New Jersey’s governors, housing Hessians and being a supply depot for Washington’s army.

The presenter of the talk is Samantha Luft who is currently the Museum Manager at the 1719 William Trent House Museum and oversees programming, social media outreach, exhibit design, educational outreach and partnering with outside agencies and consultants for the museum. Prior to her job as Museum Manager she worked as the Interim Director and a Docent at the same institution. She graduated from Monmouth University with a B.A. in Anthropology and a concentration in Art History. She then went on to Seton Hall and completed her M.A. in Museum Studies with a concentration in Registration.

Please join us for this free program. All are welcome; RSVP is appreciated to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.